Former MPR Secretary-General Ma'ruf Allegedly Demanded 10% 'Assalamualaikum Fee' for Projects

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has detained former Secretary-General of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ma’ruf Cahyono in connection with an alleged gratuity case involving procurement of goods and services within the MPR Secretariat General. During the investigation, the KPK revealed that Ma’ruf coined the term ‘uang assalamualaikum’ (assalamualaikum money) for a fee he allegedly demanded from prospective contractors. KPK Acting Director of Investigation Achmad Taufik Husein stated that Ma’ruf, acting as the Budget User, allegedly appointed himself as the Commitment Making Officer and instructed his subordinate, Zakaria, to contact potential contractors. These contractors were allegedly required to pay a fee of approximately 10 percent of the project value to secure procurement packages. Taufik explained that the total amount received by Ma’ruf from this fee scheme reached around Rp 7 billion, collected either directly or through Zakaria. Furthermore, Ma’ruf is suspected of receiving additional gratuities through a nominee account held in the name of Fauzul Akhyar, a private party, and a trading account provided by a brokerage firm. The combined value of these receipts is estimated at Rp 30 billion. Ma’ruf was detained after undergoing a second round of questioning as a suspect. He is being held for an initial 20-day period at the KPK detention centre. He has been charged under Article 12B of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.